Stokes High Bridge Cafe in Lincoln

Nice eggs Benedict and freshly squeezed orange juice.

Delicious food in a lovely setting. What really sets it apart though is the excellent service which is amongst the best we have received. Friendly, attentive, knowledgeable young lady who served us was a credit to the Café. Breakfasts were freshly prepared and tea was leaf tea with plentiful supply of hot water. Nice Victoria cake to follow - it would have been rude not to - so can highly recommend the cakes too. All of that against the backdrop of a historic setting. Definitely our goto when in Lincoln.

Such a stunning old-fashioned building, the interior and exterior of the café is beautiful. Felt transported back to old England. The food was fresh, enjoyed the salad with the requested addition of the Lincolnshire sausage (as I had to try it whilst visiting Lincoln). The service was decent. Definitely worth coming here whilst in Lincoln.

Beautiful surroundings and lovely food. Don’t rate the piped music though!

My wife and I where seated on first floor at 2:25 today by the kitchen. blonde haired waitress who appeared to be in charge ignored us completely for ten minutes even standing close to me several times whilst she informed other I will assume junior members of staff which tables had been seen to. My wife spoke to her and tried to get her attention to no avail so at 2:35 we left. On our way out we were thanked for our custom by a young man which makes me think we weren't totally invisible It was not busy with I would estimate only a third of the tables in use. The cafe was clean and the food I saw looked nice but obviously my wife and I were not considered to be good enough for it. Won't be going back.

Charming independent cafe. A real good find and well priced.

Sat upstairs very nice friendly helpful guy

Whilst the location, coffee and food is excellent, the staff, particularly the management are miserable as sin. For a premium location and price, it's not worth putting up with the poor service and attitude. I shan't be returning.

Nice place for a tea or coffee. Had toasted plum bread - guilty pleasure! The breakfast and lunch menu also looks good. Will come again

Absolutely lovely, historic place full of character. Unfortunately, it gets so busy that there is often quite a wait for service, otherwise, it can't be faulted. We always visit when we're in Lincoln.

Today we visited Stokes High Bridge Café for a Birthday Breakfast. The service was fantastic by the waitress whose name we can’t remember. Very polite and professional. The breakfast wasn’t amazing but I would say it filled a hole. Slightly dry and the sausages could’ve been cooked a bit longer for me personally. All in all we had a lovely morning at Stokes High Bridge Café.

Staff are friendly. The chairs were uncomfortable. The food was average and not cheap. Also, why no handle on the coffee glass?

Had a lovely lunch in Stokes today. Great surrounding, lovely food, excellent service from Imogen and Jack

Jacob served us and Gemma also checked in with myself and my friend. Fantastic service, they couldn’t do enough for us. Really lovely professional staff thank you

Ok but pricey. One small scone with a dab of clotted cream = over 6 pounds.

and her friends went today and ordered coffees, teacakes and a scone. Drinks arrived after everything had been eaten. Burnt teacake had to be changed and were given margarine instead of butter. Told there was no butter in the place at all, but there was. When rejected the scone because of no butter some was immediately found. This place has definitely gone down in quality and service since she last went there and will definitely not going back in the future.

Found Stokes on the Bridge. Very nice food, excellent service and very quirky interior (as you would expect from such an old building)

We had a lovely afternoon tea, great selection of sandwiches and cakes in a great historic building. Highly recommended. 👍

A cozy little place in the middle of Lincoln filled with History. Jacob & Jack gave excellent service and advice about the menu. So many dairy free and vegan options that are equally delicious as the rest. I will definitely will be coming back!

The vibes were absolutely fantastic here, chilled music and plenty of seating spaces across all floor. We stayed for sandwiches and they were so good! Jacob and Jack made us feel really welcome and looked after, great service all round!

Pie of the Day: Fab. Teyanna is a hero <3

I love Stokes, it’s my go-to place for breakfast in Lincoln. The food is always delicious and the service is always great. I love sitting upstairs by the window and watching Lincoln go by whilst having a coffee!

We ordered an alternative chai, iced mocha, fish and chips and a tuna toasted sandwich. Well.....! Alternative chai came in a nice glass tumbler so my son grabbed it to take a drink on this hot day. Of course he almost dropped it in his lap as it was HOT! Glass tumbler with no handle and no warning :( The iced mocha was grainy as the hot chocolate powder added had not dissolved in the cold liquid and it had all settled at the bottom as sludge. The fish was all watery inside an acceptable batter. Both fish were so it wasn't just a one off mistake. The chips were good. The toasted sandwich was hard to eat as the bread was thin and the tuna had a lot of mayo. Together with a lot of melted cheese made the whole thing break apart in your hand. It was even hard to eat with cutlery as it just all disintegrated. I would not recommend this place at all. In total it cost us about £50 and none of us was happy or satisfied. It was all too much to even complain to management. The service otherwise was really great!

Dined in for a quick snack before catching train home Staff ( Gemma and Holly) very attentive Food delicious, ham very tasty and bread fresh and soft Had the lemon ice tea which was one of the best I've ever tasted. So good I bought a second to take on the train Will definitely be going back

First time visiting and overall poor experience, took far to long for a waiter to take our order, food came sporadically and mistakes on order, all eggs over cooked too… clearly having a lot of issue with front of house and kitchen as we could hear them arguing in the kitchen! And the waitress with the dark brown hair booting the kitchen door every time she went through was completely unnecessary! Not likely to return..

This cafe was absolutely fantastic! Set in a historic building, gorgeous food, a busker playing outside. Our table was upstairs, with a beautiful view of the water. Without a doubt, the finest almond croissant we've ever had - even compared to ones in France! Probably shouldn't share that! 😄😄 We would definitely return here.

We had a lovely afternoon tea with scrumptious scones! Many thanks to Jacob and Jo for their excellent service!

Thanking Jacob for a very pleasant midday lunch with a superb insightful knowledgeable of the fascinating history of the beautiful old building Such a joy to meet happy helpful staff 🙌🙌👌

Stokes is a coffee and tea shop in a medieval timber framed building, that acts as a bridge over the River Witham. Fascinatingly, it’s the only bridge in England that still has buildings on it. I just had to go for a cream scone and tea and to soak up the atmosphere of Lincoln’s most famous coffee shop. The staff are smartly dressed and helpful and polite. I chose a vegan sausage roll (delicious), and a scone with jam and Cornish cream. I also had a Japanese cherry tea which was delicious! After leaving Lincoln I wished and brought some home. Loved the fruit scone although it was a tad too crispy for me but the are every crumb. It got busy in the ground floor however, I didn’t go upstairs. I couldn’t resist taking a picture from the window of the river over which Stokes sits.

Nice staff food good... just not keen on drinking a latte in a water glass

Extremely disappointed. Popped in today for a drink and a cake. Very slow service. Drinks eventually came after 35 minutes, but no sign of cakes. Still no cakes when wed finished our drinks so decided to leave. Girl on counter didn't seem to care. Guy serving didn't seem to care. No apologies given. Wouldn't have minded so much, but you were hardly run off your feet downstairs. No sign of what looked like anyone with authority. £9.50 for two lukewarm hot chocolates is daylight robbery. Do yourself a favour and spend your hard earned money elsewhere.

Called in for lunch, lovely meal.

The food is a little bit more expensive when compared to others. But it's worth it. We have been snacking and eating in this place. They have the best scone and clotted cheese in Lincoln for our opinion. In this photo, I had Big Breakfast, and my wife got her favorite fruit scone.

What a great first time experience. IMOGEN was our main waitress and could not ask for any better. Knowledgeable, informative and cheerfully.then Jo came along with the same attitude. Very pleased and food was fantastic.

A charming place to have a break from sightseeing or shopping in as quaint old cafe.

Friendly staff but no knowledge of menu and slow. Food was unavailable and we were told 20 minutes after ordering that it wouldn't be arriving. Ordered three different coffees between us that were all luke warm and watery, despite mugs being almost too hot to hold, leaving the impression they had been microwaved although there was no proof of that. Over all disappointed as the price was in the upper bracket for coffees in the area, despite the quality being the lowest I've experienced after 8 years of being a Lincoln local.

Went today for coffee, waited roughly 30 mins to be served. Eventually the young nan came over and took our order. Drinks came but no teacakes? People who came after us served teacakes so we asked the waitress about ours a d she fetched some which were dry and lukewarm. Not happy at all.

We were served by Jacob and Anna this morning. We both had a large latte and my husband had a toasted teacakes. I asked for and got a gluten free scone with butter. Jacob was very knowledgeable about Coeliac disease as his Mum has it so made sure himself that my gluten free scone was perfect for me. Will definitely go there again next time we are in Lincoln.

Beautiful little find in Lincoln today. Breakfast served till 2.30pm. Lovely atmosphere, fabulous service by Beccie and Dom, well worth a visit. Thank you

If you needed a chill time with a nice cup of coffee, Stoke is definitely a must go place in Lincoln centre. We were happy to have a good service by Jacob & Emma, they were lovely!

Gemma, Jemma and Connie served us and were incredibly polite and overall quite nice to talk to, the atmosphere was warm with other guests enjoying their meals peacefully early in the morning. The view over the brayford was nice and made you feel as if you were in 18th century england but the food was delicious as I personally had the eggs Benedict.

Lovely breakfast and Jacob and Nic were very friendly. Thank you!

I always like visiting the café, full of character and the staff are always welcoming and friendly, Jacob and Nic were attentive and pleasant to talk to during my stop today.

Great traditional lunch spot. We were seated by the window looking onto the high street. Friendly charismatic service, severed by Jacob and Nic. Lovely atmosphere.

Jacob and Nic were very helpful and great service! 🤴🤴 will be coming back again :)

Jacob and Nic were fantastic and very polite during our short service for breakfast. The food was lovely, in a stunning and relaxed atmosphere

Tayanna was particularly helpful and pleasant during our lunchtime visit.

Amazing service from Jacob and Emma. They were so helpful and made our experience great!

I was served by Kiera and tyana, the food and service was amazing!! Would definitely go back because of these girls! They were so lovely, made sure we were all comfortable

JACOB WAS Very friendly and good food 👍

Lovely building to visit either just for a coffee or meal. Very friendly staff and lovely food. Worth a visit.

Great hot drinks, a busy atmosphere however, very personable and excellent service from the waiter:Jacob

T, Kiera and Jacob, huge thanks for incredible service, excellent food, lovely surroundings 😋

Waited half an hour for service.then some one else got served .so didn't get served .no fault to waitress as she was busy .beyond .so might be better to have two waitresses on .she was doing her best

It wasn't as good as I expected, food was okay but pricey and didn't look to be alot. A very long wait to be seen that we almost turned around to find somewhere else.

The staff was great just a shame that the Chef could not Cook a English Breakfast sent back 3 times Was Cold and Eggs still raw Came back microwaved to Death So Eggs now like Rubber Sent back again SHOCKING The Bacon Sausage was shocking Cheap supermarket food would have had a Better Taste and for the Money Very Disappointed Will not be going back Had a better Breakfast at a Truck Stop costing A lot less

A Beautiful Welcome by The Lovely Waitress Emma and The Perfect Setting for a Lush Earl Grey Pot of Tea and a Wonderful pot of English Breakfast. The Toilets are 100% Clean and Spotless and we can not Thank The Whole Team enough for a chance to Just Relax and Drink with no rush or set time. Emma You are such a Lovely Lovely Lass.

Superb setting for tea. In an old half-timbered building above the river. Interesting choice of cakes as well as the variety of teas offered.

Delicious vegan sausage roll and scone, and surprisingly easy to get a table without a reservation on a sunny bank holiday weekend! Lovely service from staff. Highly recommend

Traditional style coffee shop/cafe. We visited for breakfast and it was lovely, great table, amazing food and friendly service (a bit slow to start but was great when we got served) the afternoon teas also looked good and we will more than likely visit for one if we return to Lincoln.

Perfect place for meals and sightseeing

Visited yesterday and we were very disappointed. My partner and I sat upstairs, we sat for minimum of 10 minutes before our order was taken, we just ordered two coffees and croissants. We then had to wait a further 20 minutes for what you would think would be straightforward coffees and two croissants. Staff were polite but we won't be back as ridiculously slow and we ended up been late for an appointment.

Wow what a beautiful building with equally tasty food my new go to in Lincoln definately recommended

We have travelled along the Fossdyke canal and stopped at the Marina in Lincoln after going through the famous glory hole we had to visit the High Bridge Cafe - it is an incredible historic building - the service from Holly and Emma was first class and we thoroughly enjoyed our delicious breakfast and liked their range of teas and coffee offered - A must visit if in Lincoln !

If all you ever do is just buy some coffee or tea, get a table upstairs, it's iconic

We recently went to Stokes coffee shop and had wonderful afternoon (as always). We popped in to have coffee and scones. I love the fact you now offer a vegan option, meaning I can now enjoy one too. We stayed and had quite a few drinks as the atmosphere was so lovely. We had a lovely young man serving us called Sam. Already looking forward to our next visit.

Great service from Becca and Kiera, really nice tea and coffee

I think my hopes were too high. I love a fresh home made scone, but this was a very dry fruit scone. This cafe is obviously very popular as we had to queue to get a table, but I was disappointed. I ordered a sandwich and had expected fresh home made bread ( well, hoped for) it was just run of the mill sliced bread. The coffee was ok. We won't go back.

Overall not a bad experience, went for last minute breakfast with my mother in law, we ordered the big breakfast and the standard breakfast. Staff were lovely approachable and friendly, but disappointed paying £15.00 for a big breakfast when the eggs werent upto expected standard. I asked for poached eggs which were solid i had sent them back and ask for runny poached egg to the second time was the same product. And getting a quarter of a tomato and half a mushroom. Seen great reviews for this place but disappointed with the standard of food. Coffee was lovely and smooth and worth the price. Overall not a bad experience however I wont be rushing back to visit again anytime soon.

Friendly service in a very quaint setting. We just wanted some comfort food and a drink. Their light menu was perfect for this. We had a window seat with a view of the river and also perfect for people watching.

Very enjoyable lunch overlooking the river. We were taken care of by two very attentive waitresses - the lovely Becci and delightful Ruby. A return visit is something we will definitely look forward to.

Went in ,be ignored for 10 minutes so we left

Very special place, in a beautiful historic building, the staff were brilliant, friendly, efficient, & quick service, despite it being busy, our food was delicious, views of the river from our table, can't wait to return.

I really enjoyed stopping here for some lunch. I managed to get the window seat as well. I had the Lasagne which was just about the right sized portion for lunch. The service was good and the team attentive to us.

Staff are friendly but appear to have too high a workload as they are taking orders, serving on the counter and making drinks. This means the service is very slow. Although the staff are very polite, the size of the coffee is ridiculously small and lattes are served in a glass which is too hot to touch. Just after lunch, I would not expect there to be no fruit scones available either. I really feel the quality of Stokes has gone downhill. It must be around 40 years since I first visited as a child. Sadly I’ll not return again. Prices very expensive now too.

First time visiting here and hopefully wont be the last. The service was friendly and efficient. The food was sooo lovely.

Visited here for a late breakfast on Easter Monday. Have walked past here hundreds of times but never been in. Firstly had now idea the coffee shop was spread over 3 floors. Very oldy woldy building with such a lovely feel to it. We asked for eggs benedict (which on the menu stated only served until 11.30) we didn't see that bit, and it was 11.55. The assistant manager who served us was so friendly, asked the kitchen if they would cook this for us and they did. Absolutely amazing eggs bendict. Staff so friendly so glad we stopped here and would definitely return.

Great building in centre of Lincoln. Had some tea and cake as a pick me up in mid afternoon. Great to sit high up by the window and watch people go by.

Went to the cafe for breakfast on a cold morning. An excellent full English if a tad expensive for the portion served. The cafe is very nice and fits the nature of Lincoln itself, sitting well on a stunning bridge, unique in its beauty

We popped into Stokes High Bridge Cafe in Lincoln High Street for a quick coffee and tea late in the afternoon. Without doubt Mrs Wanderer's pot of breakfast tea was exceptional. The cast iron teapots keep the brew nice and hot and the loose leaf tea made for a strong cuppa. My flat white, although small and therefore concentrated in strength, was full of flavour and a welcome break from the hubbub of the High Street. However, if you are going to offer customers menus, or have them lying on the tables, make sure you change them when they become dog-eared, tatty and marked. Perhaps investing in an A4 laminator would do the trick: at least customers wouldn't be able to abuse them in such a way and they would be wipe-clean. Just a thought.....

A beautiful place with great staff. Everything is of the best.

A historic venue in the very centre of Lincoln. Perfect coffee and lovely selection of food in a warm and friendly atmosphere.

Amazing breakfast hot fresh really well presented. Quick service staff were lovely. Will definitely be back thank you

I think this is a very good place, they had exactly what I ordered and all what I expected. Lovely surroundings inside the building, I love how old and antique the building is as well. I recommend coming here. ☕️🫖

We love visiting Stokes whenever we come to Lincoln from America (usually a few times a year.) Service can be hit or miss (mostly miss) and queues can be long but EVERYTHING we've had there is amazing..so we keep coming every time we are in the area.

Happy to que and staff were very friendly. Firstly, tried to order a pain au chocolat but were told they had sold out despite seeing some on display. We ordered a scone with jam and clotted cream. The clotted cream was completely unusable - see photo, this is how it arrived! Coffee however, was nice. But overall a disappointing visit on our first trip to Lincoln.

Coffee 'spot on' as always, croissant tasty but disappointing wasn't served warm or given the option

excellent The view the service the food

Can't beat sitting outside stokes's with a coffee and cake, watching the world go by. Great P.R, great food/ drink, one of Lincolns gems. 10/10

One of a kind great old world location atop a old bridge. Sits on 3 floors and proper old style dining experience. Good selection of foods and very tasty, gravy and pies . Not the cheapest but a must place to visit in Lincoln. Good service. Lovely views at the back but spoilt at the front by multi-coloured benches on the bridge which don't fit in with the surroundings.

Nice little coffee shop, great employees and good tea. I'll be returning while I'm out here.

Had eggs Benedict, very nice highly recommend

This is my occasional treat. Breakfast here is great. Good quality and value with knowledgeable staff. Great coffee, beautiful food, poached eggs done to perfection. To sit in a Tudor building, on a bridge, in the middle of Lincoln is a must if you are a visitor. This cafe is very popular with the locals, and has been giving great service for years. Remember to take some locally roasted coffee home with you

Great place with much history, great food, and friendly service. The place is well maintained and kept true to its original character. The staff was very friendly and helpful. And most importantly, the food was great. Had a nice breakfast with some good tea. Quick cake and coffee option is also available.

Our son had booked us in for a Lush afternoon tea as a birthday treat for my wife. Wow, what a treat! Savouries, scones, cakes and prosecco as well. All were of a very high standard, as was the service we received from Katie and Jo. Views of the river and High Street from our table, what more could we want. We're definitely coming back.

This is our go to cafe when we are in Lincoln. It's very quirky and if you sit in the window tables the view over the canal is lovely. Service is always excellent, thumbs up to Ruby on our last visit, she was very attentive and nothing was too much trouble. The menu is varied and is reasonably priced. Tea, coffee and cake is served downstairs, people with mobility issues may struggle to get up the stairs to the restaurant area.

Would have been nice to have a little background music. Waitresses were awesome 😊

We found this Cafe purely by chance and are pleased we did. It is in a wonderful building with a great view over the river. The food was great and the staff Ruby and Laura who served us were very friendly and welcoming. Food and drink were good value for money. Strongly recommend.

Breakfast was amazing and the scones were to die for for with a great cup of original tea.

I rate this place along side Betty's in Harrogate. Had steak and mushroom pie, mash with green beans. Coffee was fresh with a cup of tea. The building is a bridge over the river. A must visit is my thoughts on Stokes. Back for breakfast in Febuary.